One of the bright spots in the American economy right now is coming from the manufacturing sector. According to the Institute for Supply Management’s monthly survey of purchasing and supply executives, activity at U.S. factories has grown at its fastest rate in five months. And in the automobile sector, the growth rate is translating into new jobs.

February wasn’t a bad month for everyone in the auto industry. In the midst of recalls and Congressional hearings, Toyota’s sales dropped 9 percent, while Ford's sales were up a whopping 43 percent in the same month, which makes Ford the country’s top-selling automaker. We continue our conversation about the state of the auto industry and the health of some of its major players. 

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda testified on Capitol Hill yesterday, sounding contrite and several times apologizing for the problems that have plagued his company. Toyoda stressed Toyota's commitment to safety, and, at one point, spoke directly to the families of Toyota drivers who were killed when their cars accelerated out of control. The hearing lasted approximately three hours and Toyoda faced tough questioning from lawmakers, but appeared to be hindered at times by an inability to understand his questioners.

The CEO of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, will testify before Congress today as part of a probe into his company's massive car recall. Toyoda's prepared remarks have already been released and the embattled CEO is expected to apologize to customers and to lawmakers ahead of his testimony.

Toyota's popular hybrid, the Prius, may be the next car to face a worldwide recall, according to news reports. The move comes at a perilous time for the embattled automaker, which is accused of responding too slowly to safety concerns. 

Toyota officials in Japan are now saying that they are considering a recall of the 2010 Prius hybrid because of a flaw in the car’s anti-lock braking system. This flaw could affect other models as well. We find out more from New York Times Detroit bureau chief Bill Vlasic.

 

Toyota’s recall of 2.3 million vehicles is sending shockwaves through the automobile industry. We look at why a company that has built its reputation on customer service and problem-solving is in so much trouble now and whether those strengths could help it get back on its feet.

We spoke with Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, about the state of things for Ford (the only one of the "Big Three" not to take bailout money), carmakers in general, CEOs, and the nation.

Headlines; The Toyota Backlash

Toyota, as recently as a year ago, looked like it could escape the economic downturn unscathed and remain the auto giant it has been for decades. But recent bad press, including announcements of multiple recalls, may be hurting the Japanese auto maker and its times of dominance may soon be over. Paul Eisenstein is the publisher of The Detroit Bureau, and believes Toyota may be in big trouble. Steven Pecha thinks differently; he says the dealership he works at, Scott Clark's Toyota City in Matthews, N.C., has been doing well and all the bad news about recalls are a thing of the past.

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has been asked to step down only eight months after taking the helm of the embattled automaker. The announcement came following a GM board meeting on Tuesday. For the past eight months Henderson and GM have been dogged by questions about whether a man who had spent the past 25 years of his career with GM was really the "change" that the company needs. Will Marcum is a GM line worker who says that Henderson's resignation will be bad for morale at the struggling company, but that many auto workers agree it is time for some new blood at the top. Micheline Maynard covers the auto industry for our partner, The New York Times and is the author of "The Selling of the American Economy: How Foreign Companies are Remaking the American Dream," She says the move came as "a shock, but not a surprise."

The CEO of Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, is scheduled to make a major announcement today charting his five-year plan for the struggling car maker. Wes Lutz, the owner of a Dodge dealership in Jackson, Mich., knows nothing about what will be in today's announcement. He's not alone in wondering what's coming next: The company is keeping their plans close to their chest. We also talk to Paul Eisenstein, publisher of The Detroit Bureau, an online magazine covering the American auto industry.

Having run out of money two weeks ahead of schedule, the Cash for Clunkers program officially ends at 8 p.m. tonight.  Now that it's winding down, how are car dealers and automakers going to get people to come in and buy cars without the $4500 incentive?

We speak to Bill Underriner, owner of Underriner Autos in Billings, Montana; and Mark LaNeve, vice president of sales for General Motors.

The Federal “Cash for Clunkers” program officially kicks off today. It allows Americans to trade in cars with bad gas mileage and receive up to $4,500 towards fuel efficient vehicles. Some dealerships already began offering it and The Takeaway talks to Mary Dubois from Oklahoma City who traded in her clunker for a new, more fuel efficient vehicle. And we talk with Dan Neil, auto critic for the Los Angeles Times about the clunkers program and why Hyundai is doing so well right now. Also joining the show is Rick Halstead, a Hyundai factory worker. He's going to be talking to us from the factory in Alabama before starting his shift working on 4-cylinder engines.

In June, President Obama promised the nation a "New GM" as part of his administration's restructuring of the auto industry in the wake of its financial collapse. Now General Motors is expected to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization as the promised “New GM” —a partially-government-owned entity. The brand will hang on to successful lines like Chevrolet and Cadillac and let go of others. How will this "New GM" fit in with the old Detroit? The Takeaway is taking the pulse of Detroit today. We are joined by Bishop Charles Ellis of the Greater Grace Temple and WDET reporter Noah Ovshinsky.

Have your own story or thoughts on the "New GM"? Let us know!

With GM likely to declare bankruptcy on June 1st, autoworkers are gearing up for another round of bad news. How are the workers bracing themselves? The Takeaway talks to Will Marcum, who works on full-sized trucks for GM in Pontiac, Michigan.

For more of Will Marcum's thoughts on GM listen to his earlier interviews on The Takeaway.

GM and Chrysler are making big plans to slash dealerships. The idea is that if they have fewer dealers, those remaining will be more profitable. Chrysler tells us today which dealers it will close, and GM will do the same tomorrow. All together, that could add up to 3,600 dealerships closing up shop across the country. John McEleney is a Chrysler dealer from Clinton, Iowa. He's meeting with President Obama’s auto task force later today to plead his case, along with other dealers from GM and Chrysler. McEleney is also the chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Chrysler is going to drive on into the future... an uncertain future with a few glimmers of hope. As we have been reporting, last week the landmark American car brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and formed an alliance with Italian automaker, FIAT. FIAT will take an initial 20% stake in the company with incentives to take more. But will Fiat’s corporate culture mix with Detroit-style automaking? And how are the unions responding? To help answer those questions we are joined by Karl Ludvigsen, the former Executive Vice-President of FIAT North America.

One thing for American buyers to look forward to, George Clooney comes free with every FIAT:

The future of the iconic American automaker isn’t so American anymore. Last week, Chrysler filed for bankruptcy and made a deal with the Italian automaker FIAT, which will control at least twenty percent of the company initially, and maybe more down the road. And there may even be a move to get GM’s German subsidiary, Opel in on a three-way deal.

So what lies on the road ahead for American autoworkers and their new Italian bosses? No one knows for sure, but when Japanese automakers Honda and Toyota set up shop in America in the 1980s, American autoworkers were asking similar questions. Joining The Takeaway to offer advice to workers facing a new era at Chrysler are two Americans who worked for Japanese car manufacturers. Jim Harbour worked for 28 years in the automotive industry as a manager and director in the engineering and financial services at Ford and Chrysler Corporation and Tim Garrett is the retired vice-president of administration at Honda.

President Barack Obama marked his first 100 days in office last night with a prime-time news conference. It was the third of Obama's presidency, and the first not dominated by the recession. April Ryan, White House Correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, and Julie Mason, White House Correspondent for The Washington Examiner, join The Takeaway to review the press conference.

In case you missed it, watch Obama's comments about waterboarding in the video below.